Got up early to see the results of this race; certainly it’s disappointing, but it appears LA still uses the West Virginia approach to politics — vote conservatively in national elections, while electing the occasional democrat as Governor or Senator. Remember, this is the state that once had the crook Edwin Edwards and the cryer/liar Kathleen Blanco as Governor, and Mary Landrieu as Senator. With the large GOP majority in the legislature and the fact a popular and relatively moderate democrat Governor who once led in polling by double-digits was nearly toppled last night, the general trajectory of LA is a good one.
Rispone was a complete unknown - he had never before run for office. I was mildly surprised that the Oct 12 primary went to a runoff. I expected Edwards to win outright.
Louisiana has a core of blacks, teacher’s union, state employees, and government retireds (no state income tax on ALL govt pensions) that votes their pocketbook on the governor’s race EVERY time.
Unless and until we get some job growth in the state and bring in new blood that’s not beholden to the government tit, we can expect similar results in the future.
There is a silver lining here. The legislature is much more conservative than it was. Expect Bel Edwards to be isolated and impotent when he tries to promote more big government.